Holy Ghost Hath Made You Overseers?
Are elders supreme rulers of a congregation of the church? Can he be questioned or deposed? A senior male becomes the shepherd of feeder of the flock because he has A holy spirit filled with the counsel of God. He rules by teaching or feeding and the "lambs" obey by learning, following his faith and watching the outcome of his life. Some whom Paul identified as overseers by A holy spirit would lead the flock astray. Therefore, they were not eternally dominant pastors by the sovereign grace of God.
James R. Cope: "In matters of judgment and expediency, those meeting the divine qualifications of bishops are supreme and their word is final. The Holy Spirit has appointed them A senior maleIf that is radically outrageous then members are taught to believe it:
and to resist their authority is to rebel against the Holy Spirit.
God knew that the final decisions in the sphere of expediency had to be made by somebody, and divine wisdom has provided for them in the eldership. Regardless of the individual's judgment, it becomes his solemn obligation to acquiesce in the bishop's rule when that rule is announced. For all practical purposes, their decision is God's decision, and therefore, must become the disciple's decision. To do otherwise is to nullify the office of elders and reflect upon God's purpose in providing them..." James R. Cope, Guardian of Truth, September 19, 1985.
An E-Mailer: "What can't you understand about the great commission? "This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority (kuriotes or Lords). [such as our elders that are bashed on some of your website links]Bold and arrogant these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings (beings worthy of worship); yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusation against such beings in the presence of the Lord." 2 Peter 2:10-11Jesus: "Those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them [Jesus said to his disciples]. But it shall not be so among you!" {Mark 10:42b-43a RSV}Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:21When Luke looked back to record this history he said:And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: John 20:22THE former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Acts 1:1When Paul bestows the "spirit" on the elders it is because he has taught them the whole counsel of God.Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: Acts 1:2Men are especially identified as having an "unholy spirit" if they dishonor Christ by dishonoring His counsel and substituting "youngers" to lead the church into charismatic music and theatrical performance.If an elder lords it over the flock then Jesus would define him out of the "among you" even for inspired apostles.
Therefore, dominant leadership is to claim superiority to the apostles and perhaps "celestial beings" are among us.
"But an old Hubris tends to bring forth in evil men, sooner or later, at the fated hour of
birth, a young
Hubris and that irresistible, unconquerable, unholy spirit, Recklessness, and for the household black
Curses, which resemble their parents. - John M. Allegro, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross.
The Gift of A Holy Spirit The king/queen of Tyre called the "harp playing prostitute" wanted to be "remembered as a male." She/he has an unholy spirit but seeks in vain to be strong. She sought in vain for approval by dedicating her "musical" proceeds to the Lord for fine food and clothing. |
ELDERS
TAKE OVERSIGHT IN ORDER TO FEED: NO ONE JUST TAKES THE OVERSIGHT
WITHOUT QUALIFICATIONS OR CONDITIONS:
Everyone including the elders or senior males have to be taught. When their own spirit or mental disposition conforms to the will of God as the Mind of Christ then they may be honored because they are laboring to the point of exhaustion in preaching and teaching. In the "proof text" for elders becoming dominant pastors over the flock because they believe that whatever they want to do is the will of God because they have been MADE into a holy feeder by the direct work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, within that context hear Paul say:
Counsel is volition, purpose, will. They have the MIND of Christ or His Spirit.
There are two words used: one is "holy" and the other is "spirit." The senior males are feeders now that Paul has taught them the counsel of God. The holy spirit which makes a person an overseer is the PERSON'S OWN HOLY spirit or mental disposition. In the same way, being a husband and father and ruling his own family is a measure of the MAN'S HOLY SPIRIT. The elders ARE NOT singled out by the Holy Spirit as a third member of the "god family." Senior males are qualified because they have something holy about them:
And the holy thing is their own human Mind or Spirit--unless they are God!
God is pure or Holy Spirit. Therefore, God's "spirit" is to God what our spirit is to us? But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: Only when "our" spirit conforms to God's Spirit can our spirit said to be holy or "set aside for God's use." If we, as "vessels" are filled with the spirit of the world then our spirit is an unholy spirit. Christ has his own children
Satan has his own children
Lust is "longing after the forbidden." Some things are forbidden or God is to be a liar! We are liars when we speak of our own and do not follow God's Will. The king/queen of Tyre and Babylon are the bisexual Lucifer/Zoe character because they used music to "speak a lie." He/she is a liar because they speak their own words in order to silence God's Words and get the worship for themselves.
Those with A holy spirit are in tune with Christ the Spirit.
Therefore, when we have A holy spirit it is taught to be like the Mind of Christ which is the Spirit of God.
Elders must have a holy mental disposition to be "feeders" or teachers of the truth. This is important because:
The "shepherd" in the Old Testament most often ate the sheep. That is, they lived off the income of their sheep:
If one of the elders begins to eat the lambs do we intend to say that he has been SUPERNATURALLY ORDAINED by the Holy Spirit or God and can make no mistakes? What should you do when you WATCH because you understand the Counsel of God and have A holy spirit or mind? Do you just let the wolf eat up the proceeds of the flock? Of course not! But, how can we know a wolf from a lamb or shepherd? When a hireling begins to hire "staff" and more staff he has staff infection. His co-hirelings want "an office and a crust of bread" so that they don't have to be a shepherd who FEEDS. Paul said:
Here is that "holy spirit" or mind mental disposition without which you are not qualified:
In the Dominant Pastor, the pulpit as feeding place is turned over to the musical and theatrical performers. They eat up the lambs or chase them away to make room for more tender "body worshipers." The word "elder" simply means a mature, older man. If he has a holy mind or mental disposition and if he holds the knowledge of the faith then he has advanced. However, the older male who is to be followed is further qualified by his existing imitation of Paul's counsel from God:
A senior male is to be honored. And the "youngers" who dishonor any of them is heaping up his own basket of wrath. However, some senior males are worthy of extra honor (not necessarily money) and should be followed because of his teaching, faith and walk in life:
PARALLEL MEANING FOR THE DEACONS: When the first "deacons" were chosen they must be FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT and WISDOM (Acts 6:3).
Paul said that this means that the deacons must be:
In Acts 2:38 Peter promised the gift of A holy spirit as a result of turning to Christ in repentance and baptism. In 1 Peter 3:21 the same Peter said that baptism was the time and place where we ask God for a clear conscience. This means much more than "freedom from a guilty feeling." It means that all obstacles to grasping the mysteries of the faith have been cleared away
This insists that those how hold THE FAITH in a pure or HOLY consiousness have the gift of A holy spirit. This means that they have the gift of discernment because their mind is filled with the Word of Christ. Jesus said of His WORDS:
Therefore, elders and deacons as the TEACHERS of the flock are made so by THEIR Holy Spirit or holy conscience. The elders are POINTED OUT because they are already "laboring to the point of exhaustion in preaching and teaching." Paul confirms that an evangelist or later a preacher or elder is qualified because he is ALREADY a Suffering Servant. |
A True
Shepherd is not a hireling. That is, he must imitate Jesus who
identified the under shepherds as "going to seek and save the lost."
The Shepherd worthy of true respect does not slip in under the walls of a sheepfold, get himself selected as a shepherd and then claim authority over the senior male leadership who may "already be laboring to the point of exhaustion in preaching and teaching. Those who usurp the authority of another flock are, as Jesus warned, just doing what they by nature are destined to do. Elders who refuse to "teach the Word as it has been taught" are liars.
The early bishops or elders clearly understood their "regional" or provincial responsibility as when Paul remained at one place for a few years but the whole "province" was taught. The missionaries were elders who went out gathering sheep in huge cities until they were taught by congregational elders with A holy spirit. Those who build mega-mega sheepfolds and are then forced to gather "goats" to pay the bills always invite in a few wolves to destroy the work of the hireling. This, in turn, steals the honor and support for the true preacher-evangelists who would love to have some of that increasingly- squandered resource to teach Muslims not to hate Americans. |
Kenneth Sublett
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